Tyson Fury has claimed that the referee saved Deontay Wilder's career and life in their rematch last year.
The 'Gypsy King' recorded a historic victory in dominant fashion in Las Vegas, with the fight stopped in the seventh round.
And Wilder is now preparing to do battle for a third time, after enforcing a trilogy bout through a court arbitration.
But Fury believes that the official was responsible for saving Wilder's life, with several shots landing clean during the devastating round.
“The moment rose, it happened again and he ended up going down again with so many punches,” Fury told BT Sport Box Office.
“The final stoppage one was where I was catching him clean, I believe the referee actually saved his life that night and saved his career.
“It was just like 'I told you so', and I am back where I belong and that’s it. There was no big miracle shock, it was like I was back where I was supposed to be at the top of the game, rated number one and back beating guys I wasn’t supposed to be beating.
“Physically and emotionally I have managed to push myself and come back from places I didn’t know if I could, but it was a tough ride and I have enjoyed every minute of it.
Fury has now flown to America to begin the latest segment of his training camp, with just two weeks to go before the trilogy bout.
And he remains ever-confident of beating Wilder again, sending him a short and comical message ahead of the fight.
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His father John Fury is also confident his son has the "antidote" to defeat Wilder again, claiming the American "doesn't deserve" another shot.
"He doesn't deserve the fight after that last performance," Fury's dad said. "It should be Tyson and [Anthony] Joshua.
"This man is just a bump in the road that we're going to iron out and send into retirement. We've got the antidote for him that we can't discuss on camera because we're going to execute it on the night and it'll be the end of Deontay Wilder.
"Deontay Wilder this time, how can two wrongs produce a champion?" Fury asked. "Deontay Wilder is all wrong and Malik Scott is all wrong.
"Where's he going to get the win from? He got humiliated last time, let the whole of America down, Tyson smashed him to pieces.
"He's lucky to be boxing Tyson again for the third time, only for people around Tyson he got the chance again."
Fury's preparations for the first date were initially hampered by a coronavirus outbreak, with the fight delayed until the new October date.
And the 33-year-old has now refused his second coronavirus vaccine until after the event, to prevent further illness.
He has also now broken his silence after rival Anthony Joshua's second career defeat to Oleskandr Usyk, with a "still the best" taunt.
The Gypsy King could still face Joshua further down the line, with the pair seemingly willing to fight without the belts.
